Careers Festival puts travel in the forefront

Springboard

Careers Festival puts travel in the forefront

Travel will gain equal billing to hospitality and leisure at the second Careers Festival, being held on October 2-8.

Last year’s event focused on hotels and restaurants, an imbalance acknowledged by careers promotion agency Springboard UK, which organises the event.

Springboard managing director Anne Walker said: “We did not really target travel last year. We had a short timescale and at the time the chronic skills shortages were in hospitality. As a result, we were approached by different companies in the travel sector who wanted to get involved.”

Travel Weekly gives its backing to this year’s festival – a week-long event where employers organise various events aimed at encouraging people to join the industry – and Thomas Cook and ABTA appear as sponsors for the first time.

The event will exceed the scale of last year, when 500 companies organised over 1,700 events. Springboard reported that 58,000 individuals had contact with the festival, and its evaluation indicated that the perception of the industry improved through being involved.

Participating organisations can buy an action pack on how to secure media coverage. This year, falling unemployment means that employers have to work ever harder to compete for attention with high-profile industries like the media, said Walker.

“There are fewer young people, because of demographics, and a number of young people are staying at school or opting to go travelling. The second factor is the competition we are getting from other industry sectors. They, for whatever reason, seem to have a sexier image.”

Employers also have to make sure they cover individual applicant’s needs. Not everyone wants a rapid promotion.

“Just as the industry requires a lot of different types of people, so there are recruits who demand different kinds of jobs. There are people who do want a part-time job, and they will do it to the best of their ability. We should be targeting older people, women returning after maternity leave and career changers.

“Other people look for a dynamic, fast-moving career progression and want to see how they are going to get that in the sector. They are asking which employers are going to offer that.”

For more information on the event contact www.springboarduk.org.uk.

Family affair: employers are being urged to target women returning to work after having children

factfile

Careers festival

Date: October 2-8.

Location: nationwide.

Registration fee (for employers): £20; £50 with action pack.

Participating companies: 650.

Examples of events: Thomas Cook is organising a skills challenge contest for 120 school children at Chelsea Village. First Choice will offer work experience for a week to local students, starting in the northwest of England.

Thomas Cook: one of the sponsors of the Careers Festival